What, If Anything, Is Being Sold at Shaolin?

Controversy has arisen again over Shaolin Temple, about a month after the temple’s Web site came under attack by hackers angry at its commercialization.

Shaolin Temple

The Shaolin Temple statement

This time, a tourism venture that uses the Shaolin name is in focus , though it’s not clear to what extent the temple itself is involved, and the abbot and the monks of Shaolin recently released a statement, hand-written on red poster paper that appears to denounce the venture.

The background: In the past week, the government of Dengfeng city in Henan province, where the 1,500-year-old Shaolin temple is located, launched a joint venture with the Hong Kong-listed China Travel International Investment, a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corporation. The focus of the new firm – CTS (Dengfeng) Songshan Shaolin Culture Tourism Co. – is to promote the Shaolin culture and tourism to Songshan Mountain, according to the statement of the Dengfeng government.

Advertisement

The financial terms of the deal are murky. China Travel International Investment indicates in a statement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange that the company is taking a 51% stake in the venture, which is registered with a capital of 100 million yuan (around $14.7 million), while the Dengfeng government will hold the remaining 49% through a local tourism development arm in exchange for injecting some assets it manages in the Songshan scenic area to the JV.

Chinese state media has reported that the new JV firm plans an initial public offering in 2011. The IPO plan has drawn much media attention since it became known.

It’s not clear from these statements, however, what the asset portion of Dongfeng’s investment consists of. Chinese media have reported that it includes Dengfeng’s rights to charge admission at Shaolin. The temple’s annual ticket revenue has been as much as 150 million yuan.

Administrators of Shaolin Temple said they have no idea of most details in the deal that the local government has inked, but one administrator said the agreement has “hurt the brand and management rights of Shaolin Temple.” He said ticket sales is the temple’s most important source of revenue, and that currently the temple keeps 30% of ticket sales, while the local government takes the remaining 70%, which in a good year would translate to around 105 million yuan – well above Dongfeng’s asset injection into the venture, valued at 49 million yuan.

The Shaolin administrator said he doesn’t know how the government’s new business will affect the temple’s arrangement with Dongfeng over ticket sales.

News of the venture has led to widespread public concern about the destiny of Shaolin Temple, and also of potential undervaluation of the temple’s assets. The critics also argued that as Shaolin Temple is part of China’s cultural heritage, the local government shouldn’t make unilateral decisions without consulting with the temple or hearing public opinions.

In response to the public outcry, the Dengfeng government published a couple of statements clarifying that the proposed joint venture would not include the assets of the 16 preserved cultural and historic sites in the area, including Shaolin Temple. They also denied that it had sacrificed the interest of Shaolin Temple. The materials provided by the local government for Chinese media also showed that Shi Yongxin, the abbot of Shaolin Temple, met with executives of the Hong Kong company in October, indicating that the abbot was aware of the government plan. Recent Chinese media reports had quoted the abbot as saying that he didn’t know of the government program and that the IPO plan goes against the spirit of Buddhism.

Shortly after the Dengfeng government unveiled the new JV business, the abbot and the Shaolin monks said they have been deeply worried by the government decision. Their tough-worded statement said, “All monks here are humbly holding incense and praying to all Buddha to protect the complete legacy of the thousands of years of history of Shaolin Temple, to save the heritage of Shaolin Temple from being dismantled and divided, to prevent the Shaolin temple from setting a precedent example for all temples across the country.

Chinese media have also published a statement of a Zhengzhou-based law firm on behalf of Shaolin Temple that said all tangible and intangible assets of the temple should be protected by Chinese religious laws. The statement suggested that Shaolin Temple’s ticket revenues, which are tax exempt due to the government support for religious sites, shouldn’t be treated as business assets.

A survey on Sina.com showed that 93% of the 7,129 participants were against the deal because “Shaolin Temple, a religious place, should not be involved in too many commercial practices.”

Many Chinese Internet users were ironizing about the commercialization of religious culture in their own ways.

“In 2011, the temple won’t need to broadcast Buddhism songs any more. [They] can put up a big screen showing the daily stock charts. Worshippers can also chat about the stock market when praying,” wrote the blogger Li Zhiqi, “In 2011, Shaolin Temple won’t be alone. The temples big and small in different places will all plan IPOs.”

About China Real Time Report

China Real Time Report is a vital resource for an expanding global community trying to keep up with a country changing minute by minute. The site offers quick insight and sharp analysis from the wide network of Dow Jones reporters across Greater China, including Dow Jones Newswires’ specialists and The Wall Street Journal’s award-winning team. It also draws on the insights of commentators close to the hot topic of the day in law, policy, economics and culture. Its editors can be reached at chinarealtime@wsj.com.